Chapter 116: 115: Unexpected

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

It was also the day for Zhou Huaian to have his stitches removed.

Ever since Ye Xiaoshuang’s agency store started collecting eels, fewer people have sent eels to the Zhou family.

After discussion, the four Zhou brothers decided not to engage in a price war with them. Zhou Huaishan and Zhou Huaijun went to several nearby brigades to purchase water with buckets on their shoulders.

Two kilograms from one store and ten kilograms from another. Although it is hard work, the two brothers can still collect one or two hundred kilograms in a day.

The two of them had good harvesting in the first three or four days. In the following days, Ye Xiaoshuang's twin brother, Ye Dashuang, also followed behind, carrying buckets and collecting.

The Zhou Huaishan brothers visited several teams a day and only collected more than 100 kilograms.

Because they had to send eels to the city every day, Yang Chunyan and Li Qiuyue had no time to go to the mountains to collect herbs. They sent eels, mushrooms and corn to the city to sell before dawn every day. Each family could earn at least 10 to 20 yuan a day.

On this day, when it was just getting light, Yang Chunyan, Zhou Huaian, Zhou Huaishan and the old man went out together and walked towards Ning'an.

The old man sold all his sheep, and when he had nothing to do, he helped the second son dig yellow mud.

Zhou's father took his son to dig yellow mud on the mountain every day. Many villagers knew that the second branch of the Zhou family was going to dig soil, burn kilns and build a new house.

Because of the eel business, most villagers thought that the money they used to build kilns and new houses came from selling eels.

Except for the Xiong family who still had doubts, no one else asked about the bezoar matter, and the Zhou family was happy that no one mentioned it.

The four of them arrived at the yellow horn tree and the sky was getting bright.

The old man looked at Zhou Huaian and Yang Chunyan who were carrying baskets on their backs, and Zhou Huaishan who was pushing a chicken cart, "They walk such a long way every day, and they earn their money with hard work!"

Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Grandpa, it's just this stretch of road. We can stop a tractor to go into the city on the asphalt road."

The old man felt a little distressed. "It's only a few dimes for four people to go back and forth. It's still early, let's just walk."

Zhou Huaian said: "Grandpa, if we walk there, we won't be able to catch the morning market, and it won't be worth it if the goods are damaged!"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "After a year, the transportation costs are too complicated to calculate. I think after the house is repaired, you should buy a mule and a cart. Not only can the mule pull more, but it is also much easier for people."

Zhou Huaishan, "Originally, my youngest and I wanted to buy a tractor. I asked Dr. Xiao Wang the other day, and he said it was very difficult to buy one."

"Oh!" the old man joked, "You want to buy a tractor. It seems that your kid has saved a lot of private money."

"Hehe!" Zhou Huaishan laughed innocently, "There are more than ten yuan to share every day these days. It will take at most a few months to save enough."

"Grandpa, a mule is more expensive than a bicycle. We can buy a big golden deer that can carry a lot of things. With the money we save, we can buy another cow. Then we don't have to rent other cows to plow the fields anymore."

The old man nodded happily after hearing this, "Not bad, I have a plan now."

Yang Chunyan vaguely heard the rumbling sound of a tractor coming from behind, and turned around to look, "Huaian, stop and wait for a while, there is a tractor coming."

Zhou Huaishan put down the chicken bus and waited for the tractor to come over. Zhou Huaian ran to the middle of the road and started waving.

The tractor slowly stopped and when he saw that it was an old acquaintance, he got on without bargaining.

The old man leaned against the carriage board, looked at the trees on both sides of the road that were rapidly receding, and said loudly: "Things with more wheels run faster."

"How can it not be fast when there are so many things worth thousands of yuan?"

Yang Chunyan squinted her eyes and listened to the guys chatting and yelling. She leaned against the carriage board and fell asleep unknowingly. When she woke up, she had crossed the bridge and arrived in Ning'an City.

After getting off the bus and picking up the backpack, Zhou Huaishan pushed the chicken bus, creaking as it went towards the north of the city.

When they passed by Dr. Wang's clinic, it was not open yet, so the four of them walked towards the vegetable market.

The old man hadn't been to Ning'an for many years. He pointed at the vendors on both sides of the street and said, "It was not allowed to set up stalls like this before. One year we came to sell some mountain products and were arrested by the joint defense team. It was Secretary Xu who bailed us out."

Zhou Huaian said with a smile: "Now it's open, you can do business freely in the county town, sell your things later, and we will take you to eat mutton."

The old man smiled and waved his hands, "I don't eat mutton. I herd sheep every day, and I've smelled enough of the stench of sheep!"

Zhou Huaishan: "Grandpa, let's go eat beef noodles and a bowl of beef offal soup. You must not have eaten it for many years."

The old man laughed, "Instead of spending money on a restaurant, you might as well buy two pounds of meat and bring it back for the whole family to eat together."

Zhou Huaian nodded, "I'll listen to you. I'll go buy two pig's trotters and stew them at home for the whole family to eat together."

Yang Chunyan walked along and found that more and more people were selling things. "Huai'an, look, more and more people are coming into the city to sell mushrooms these days. Fortunately, Huang, the purchaser, helped introduce a few canteens, otherwise we might not be able to sell all the mushrooms we brought."

"Thanks to his help, when I get home, I'll go to the ditch and catch some fish for them."

The old man interrupted after hearing this and said, "People in the city have no place to raise chickens, so you can give them some eggs each. The mushrooms will still need to be sold for two or three months!"

"Listen to grandpa and send them some eggs next time."

As they were talking, they arrived in front of Wang Jianjun's fish stall. Zhou Huaian walked forward with a smile, "Good morning, Brother Wang!"

Wang Jianjun looked up, saw Zhou Huaian, and said with a smile: "Youngest, is your leg okay?"

Zhou Huaian smiled and nodded, "Okay, no matter how bad it gets, I can't hold it anymore."

Wang Jianjun stood up and walked in front of the two brothers, and said a little embarrassedly: "There have been more eels sent to sell these two days, and the neighbor is only charging 35 cents per catty. I will still buy the eels you sent today at the old price, and next time I can only charge 35 cents per catty."

Zhou Huaian understood that his words meant to inform him, not to discuss with him, "Okay, let's do as Brother Wang said."

Zhou Huaishan thought that starting tomorrow, he would lose three cents of profit per pound of yellow eel. After deducting the loss, he would only make six cents per pound, which made him feel very distressed. Fortunately, there were still a few canteens that could deliver 60 to 70 pounds the next day.

Wang Jianjun saw that he agreed so readily, thinking that the two families had been getting along well these days, he felt a little guilty, "Not only are there a few more people sending eels, but there are also two more fish stalls today. I think business in the city is getting worse and worse."

Zhou Huaian looked over and saw two more stores. "Brother Wang, your products are good and you have many old customers, so don't worry."

Wang Jianjun smiled bitterly: "Thanks to your good words, let's weigh them first!"

Several people lifted the buckets out of the bamboo basket, weighed them and paid the bill. Then Zhou Huaishan pushed the chicken cart to the canteen to deliver the goods.

Zhou Huaian helped Yang Chunyan set up the stall and took the old man to the vegetable market to buy pig's trotters.

Yu Hongxia came out of the house carrying a small stool and said to Yang Chunyan, "Xiao Yang, there are more and more people selling young corn and mushrooms. I asked two stores and they sell corn for 7 cents and mushrooms for only 8 cents per pound."

Yang Chunyan discovered it when she came and said, "Thank you, Sister Xia, I'll sell it at a lower price too."

Zhou Huaian and the old man came back from a walk and saw Yang Chunyan collecting corn leaves. "They're sold out so quickly?"

Yang Chunyan put the corn leaves into her backpack and turned back with a smile, "I was thinking about going to the hospital, so I sold them at a lower price."

(End of this chapter)